UK charity launches virtual reality workshops to tackle menopause inequality

The UK-based charity Wellbeing of Women has launched free virtual reality workshops to tackle menopause inequality in small and medium-sized businesses.   

Hosted in Milton Keynes, a city known for its business community, Menopause Xplored aims to harness virtual reality and expert advice to teach participants about how menopause can impact women in the workplace, and how they can retain staff, avoid skills shortages and help women flourish at work. 

Milton Keynes is one of the UK’s top five cities for business start-ups per 10,000 population. It has more than are 12,000 businesses, of which 8.6 per cent  are small businesses and 1.9 per cent are medium businesses.  

Women over 50 are the fastest growing demographic in the workplace and, at this stage of their careers, are often at their most successful, productive and experienced. 

Perimenopause and menopause symptoms like brain fog, lack of sleep, anxiety and hot flashes, combined with a lack of support and knowledge from employers, can lead to one in 10 women leaving their careers at this time. 

“Menopause is not a new concept, yet as a society, we have not been talking openly about it for long,” explained Diane Danzebrink, author of Making Menopause Matter and Menopause Xplored expert. “It’s not always easy to find the right information and support, which leads to many women struggling in silence, including at work.

“By harnessing the power of virtual reality and facilitating open discussion, we hope that managers and staff can better understand how perimenopause and menopause can affect women and teach them how best to support their colleagues.” 

Wellbeing of Women CEO, Janet Lindsay said: “Menopause Xplored is an immersive film and workshop that builds on the success of our Menopause Workplace Pledge. By training staff and managers alike on menopause, its range of symptoms and how it might affect staff, we hope that we can make SMEs a more diverse and inclusive place for women.

“Supporting women in the workplace is the right thing to do, employers can help to attract and improve retention of staff, ensure a diverse and inclusive workforce, increase productivity, maximise employee wellbeing and address the gender pay gap. When we get it right for women, everyone benefits.” 

Charlotte Richmond, head of employee engagement and wellbeing at Aimmi, who attended the workshops last year, said: “The workshop was very informative and created a comfortable environment where people felt free to share their personal experiences. It prompted me to update our menstrual and menopause policy to reflect the new knowledge and insights I gained from the workshop. 

“The practical tools, provided by the menopause experts, were invaluable and the virtual reality especially helped to increase empathy and understanding among the participants.” 

This project was funded through the VCSE Health and Wellbeing Fund, part of a partnership programme between Department of Health & Social Care, NHS England and UK Health Security Agency. 

We are working with Menopause Reality, a multi-film immersive project from Forward Slash Films, sharing individual stories of women’s experiences of the menopause in the workplace, viewed in VR headsets. Workshops will be delivered by leading menopause expert Diane Danzebrink from Menopause Support

To book a space onto the workshops, register on Wellbeing of Women’s  Menopause Xplored page.